By Dorothy Frances Ward
Kumasi, Oct. 26, GNA – The Kwadaso Municipal assembly and the Neu-Isenburg community in Germany, have entered a partnership to increase climate adaptation activities and help mitigate the harmful effects of climate change in the two sister municipalities.
Under the partnership, a total of 40,000 tree seedlings are expected to be planted in the Kwadaso Municipality.
Already, 10,000 seedlings have been planted in the area and another 15,000 seedlings are expected to be planted by the close of the year.
Mr Richmond Agyenim Boateng, the Municipal Chief Executive, who made this known, said the partnership would also help to promote sustainable agriculture through fair trade, and export of Ghanaian local products to the city of Neu-Isenburg, in Germany.
Speaking at a forum organised by the assembly to welcome a delegation from the Neu-Isenburg, he said the aim was to increase climate adaptation activities in both municipalities by 2030.
Mr Boateng said the tree planting project, which formed part of the sustainable urban development planning project, would be carried out along the street’s sides, school compounds as well as wetland areas in the municipality.
He said the project, which included the efficient management of waste and a clean environment to improve the health of the people, would also help to create employment for the youth in the area.
It would also increase the use of solar energy in public buildings to cut down on electricity costs.
Mr Kofi Karikari. The coordinator of the Climate Partnership Action noted that the partnership, which began in May 2019, had four thematic areas.
They are afforestation, Renewable Energies, Sensitisation on Sustainable Management and the establishment of fair Trade.
He said the partners from Germany had already provided four boreholes with solar modules for Edwinase Rehabilitation Centre, Methodist Technical Institute and the Denkyemuoso Community.
They also provided Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and hand washing facilities for some schools during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mr Karikari said by 2025, all citizens in the two sister cities would be well-sensitised to know the negative impacts of climate change and identify and implement personal adaptation strategies that would include behavioural change and some additional investments.
Mr Dirk Gene Hagelstein, Mayor of Neu-Isenburg, and Mr Dirk Wolfing, Member of the Council of Neu-Isenburg, responsible for Climate Change Protection and Greening, affirmed their commitment to the partnership and said all areas afforested within the framework of the climate partnership were sustainably managed and protected.
They said protection of the climate and its preservation would also lead to improvement in forest ecosystems and biodiversity, and, thereby, improve the climate in the communities.
The team later visited some of the trees which had been planted in the municipality since the partnership began.
GNA